The Montauk commercial fishing community was in shock this week after the accidental death on Saturday night of Donald V. Alversa, 24, aboard the Jason and Danielle, a stern trawler based in Montauk Harbor. Mr. Alversa was struck by a cable that snapped while the 90-foot dragger was fishing off the coast of the Carolinas.

An emergency distress call went out at about 8:30 p.m., and a helicopter was flown to the dragger, which was 45 miles northeast of Kill Devil Hills on North Carolina’s Outer Banks at the time. Because of the distance, it took about an hour for the helicopter to reach the Jason and Danielle, Brandyn Hill, a Coast Guard spokesman said on Sunday.

Mr. Alversa was transported to the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, but his condition deteriorated on the way, and he was declared dead after he was brought into the hospital.

“I remember him skateboarding up to my house,” Anthony Sosinski, captain of the Anna Mary, a fishing vessel docked on the other side of Montauk Harbor from the Jason and Danielle, said on Sunday.

The Jason and Danielle, the largest fishing vessel based in Montauk Harbor, normally docks at Inlet Seafood, at the north end of East Lake Drive.

Mr. Sosinski said that it is hard for outsiders to understand how tightly knit the Montauk fishing community is, and how a death like this affects everyone in it.

“He had a lot of good friends out here,” said Dan Fagan yesterday, as he dragged swordfish across the floor at Gosman’s Seafood. Mr. Alversa spent a year working alongside Mr. Alversa on the Jason and Danielle. “It’s a real shame.”

About the Author

T.E. McMorrow began freelancing for The Star in 2009, before coming on staff, full time, at the end of 2011. He is a member of the Drama Desk in New York. His book, “Nutcracker in Harlem,” illustrated by James Ransome, is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2017 by HarperCollins children’s division.